Easter Sunday was practically a miracle at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR). The sun was out and not a cloud could be seen in the sky. It was a substantial change from the previous two days that featured fairly steady rain during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour (HST) weekend April 7-9, 2023, which was hosted by SCCA’s North Carolina Region.
A dry line could definitely be seen Sunday morning around VIR’s 3.27-mile, 18-turn circuit. But portions of the track were still damp, and very cool temperatures early impacted tire grip. More importantly, everything other than the course was still waterlogged. So, drivers that accidentally ventured off course during the nine run groups experienced troubles rejoining races scheduled to be either 14 laps or 35 minutes, whichever came first.
Even with imperfect conditions, lots of drivers relished the opportunity to better familiarize themselves with VIR, which will again host the SCCA National Championship Runoffs in 2023 later this fall. What advantages did drivers gain during the HST weekend at VIR that will help at the Runoffs? We’ll not have that answer until later this year.
Champs Set Pace in Formula Continental®: The Formula Continental (FC) race Sunday had three SCCA national champions sorting things out at the front of the field. You had two-time FC champion Robert Allaer in a Van Diemen RF02, seven-time Formula Vee champ Michael Varacins driving the No. 65 Pepperball/First Strike/Hoosier Van Diemen F2000, and 2019 FC champion Tim Minor in the No. 81 Automotive Specialist Center/Hoosier Tire/Bungalow Lake House Citation.
Varacins won Saturday’s rain race, but settled into third early Sunday to size up the opposition. Minor started on pole and took the lead with Allaer hounding him. For a few laps, in fact, Allaer held the top spot, but it was Minor who led most of the race.
By the eighth lap, Varacins and moved up to take second, dropping Allaer to third. In the meantime, Minor was able to create a bit of a gap back to the other two competitors. But as laps ticked away, Varacins closed in tight on Minor and filled up his side-mirrors. And while Varacins was able to set a new FC track record at VIR Sunday, turning a lap of 1:51.841, he was never able to get by Minor.
“Today’s race was way better than yesterday’s,“ Minor noted about his Sunday performance. “I was trying to figure out what the track wants, what the car wants, and all the different setups over the weekend. But I kind of missed it today. I might have won, but the car was not what I wanted it to be.
“All in all, it was a good weekend,” Minor concluded. “We came home with the car in one piece, and got some valuable information for the Runoffs.”
Big Fields Take Track: Spec Miata (SM) was the largest class at VIR. Sunday saw more than 60 cars take the green flag. From there the SM event had a staccato pace, with several go-then-slow segments thanks to multiple full-course yellows.
At the final restart with only a couple laps remaining, it was Saturday SM winner Charles Mactutus on point in the No. 66 OPM Autosports/G-Loc Brakes/Hoosier Tires Mazda Miata ahead of Raiden Nicol, Junior Brock, Jonathan Davis and Brian Henderson. When they reached the white flag, that group had been whittled down to just Nicol, Brock, Henderson and Mactutus.
As the final lap progressed, Mactutus fell back. Somehow, Nicol managed to get a gap on the competitors running second and third. A somewhat unusual circumstance in SM races, that gap held and Nicol came home a winner in the No. 193 Primal Racing Group/Rossini Race Engines Mazda Miata.
“I tried to be in good positions for the restarts,” Nicol said about key decisions made during the race. “Chuck (Mactutus) and I went back and forth until about the last lap. But at that point it’s every man for himself. I was able to get away a little bit while they all battled, and I was able to take the victory.”
The second-largest field of the weekend went to Spec Racer Ford Gen3, which started with 38 drivers. That event came down to three contestants as laps dwindled. A full-course yellow bunched up the cars about midway through the race, but at the restart it was Charles Russell Turner, Denny Stripling and Sandy Satullo who broke away into a three-car cluster to decide a winner.
Things got close in the last couple corners on the last lap, but it was Stripling who just edged out the others to claim victory in the No. 123 PCS/Lightspeed Motorsports SRF3 car. The tiny margin of victory was .040sec over Turner.
“There were eight or nine guys who could’ve won that race today,” Stripling admitted while holding his first-place trophy. “I was lucky and got this race timed right. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Driving a ‘New’ Car: Greg Ira won both E Production (EP) races over the weekend. Saturday’s victory was pretty convincing, but Sunday was a bit tighter thanks to cool conditions and a full-course yellow, which allowed runner-up Peter Norton and his Caterham Seven to keep pressure on the leader.
The No. 2 Blue Oceans Yachting BMW Z3 driven by Ira is new to him, but the vehicle is not new to SCCA road racing. The car was purchased from reigning EP national champion Jesse Prather, and the vehicle has actually claimed victory at the last three Runoffs. In Ira’s capable hands, it’s certainly conceivable that car could claim its fourth consecutive national championship this year.
“It was a real learning experience this weekend,” Ira said about his new ride. “This is my first weekend in the BMW. It’s an awesome machine Jesse built. I’m just lucky to be able to drive it, in all reality. It’s a dream to drive. It’s awesome the way it handles and the way we can manage races. It’s perfect.”
Will Ira take the BMW to another EP championship? He already has two previous EP triumphs at the Runoffs. But anything could happen at SCCA’s winner-take-all National Championship in fall at VIR.
On Our Way to Oklahoma: Completion of racing at VIR marks the midway point in the Hoosier Super Tour’s 10-event schedule for the 2023 season. Next is the sixth event of the year, which takes place April 22-23 in Jennings, OK, at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit (HMRC). The 1.8-mile, 10-turn track is dear to many SCCA drivers, and often produces great races.
Driver and worker registration is already open for that event, which is hosted by SCCA’s Ark Valley Race Group. And of course, the action from HMRC will be broadcast online, live and for free thanks to the popular Hoosier Super Tour enhanced video and audio package.
Before then, relive the action of HST’s visit to VIR with on-demand video playback of the event available in a couple days at the SCCA YouTube channel. Also find post-race video interviews with some Saturday winners, and Sunday victory podium celebration videos, at the SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
Sunday Race Winners: Below are provisional race winners from Sunday’s Hoosier Super Tour at VIRginia International Raceway with Class: Name, Hometown and Car. An asterisk (*) denotes drivers with a weekend sweep in the class.
American Sedan: James Jost; New Ringgold, PA; Ford Mustang GT
B-Spec: Steve Introne; Windham, NH; Mini Cooper
*E Production: Greg Ira; Fort Lauderdale, FL; BMW Z3
F Production: Michael Kamalian; Marietta, GA; Mazda Miata
*H Production: Mike Ogren; Dunedin, FL; Volkswagen Scirocco
Formula 600: Calvin Stewart; Novi, MI; Novakar Blade
Formula Atlantic: Chip Romer; Lake Havasu City, AZ; Swift 016
Formula Continental®: Tim Minor; Fredericksburg, VA; Citation
*Formula Enterprises® 2: Charles Russell Turner; Montpelier, VA; SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
Formula F: David Adorno; Woodhaven, NY; Mygale FJ15
Formula Vee: Alex Scaler; Asbury, NJ; Scaler Mk1
GT-1: Thomas Herb; Barrington, IL; Mercedes-Benz AMG GT
*GT-2: Barry Boes; Austin, TX; Ford Mustang
*GT-3: Ray Stephenson; Miami, FL; Mazda RX-7
*GT-Lite: Graham Fuller; Summit Point, WV; Honda CRX
GT-X: Ray Ramirez; Houston, TX; McLaren 570s GT4
Spec Miata: Raiden Nicol; Hoschton, GA; Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford Gen3: Denny Stripling; McKinney, TX; Spec Racer Ford Gen3
*Prototype 1: Chip Romer; Lake Havasu City, AZ; Elan DP02
*Prototype 2: Michael Moulton; Wilmington, NC; Stohr WF1
*Super Touring Lite: Danny Steyn; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Mazda MX-5 Miata
*Super Touring Under: Mark Liller; Bowie, MD; Dodge Neon SRT-4
Touring 1: James Candelaria; Boca Raton, FL; Chevrolet Corvette
Touring 2: Mark Boden; Buffalo Grove, IL; Porsche 997.1
*Touring 3: Rob Hines; Arlington, VA; Nissan 350Z
Touring 4: Christopher Windsor; Thurmont, MD; Mazda MX-5
Photo: Tim Minor, No. 81, was chased to the finish of Sunday’s Formula Continental race by Michael Varacins, No. 65, during the Hoosier Super Tour stop at VIR.
Photo by Jeff Loewe
